Excellence in poetry was celebrated last night in Toronto as the winners of the 2015 Griffin Poetry Prize were announced.  Blue Sonoma by Jane Munro is the Canadian winner.

Click on the audio clip (above) to hear an excerpt of Jane Munro reading on Wednesday night at Koerner Hall at the Griffin Shortlist Readings.

The awards were given out Thursday night at the Fermenting Cellar in Toronto’s historic Distillery District.

The Stairwell by Michael Longley of Ireland, won the International prize.  Here is a clip of Longley reading from his winning work:

Both Longley and Munro each received $65,000 in prize money.  The Griffin Poetry Prize was founded in 2000.  The prize is for first edition books of poetry written in, or translated into, English and submitted from anywhere in the world.